Feeling chilled and under the cold and rainy weather as we tour St Ives then take a Little Lady trip to LH Jones boatyard before we set off, locking through Hemingford, Hartford, and then Godmanchester to get to our playing field moorings by early evening. News of more parcel bombs threatening UK civil servants and of teachers being bitter and sceptical of government plans
Slept well again in my new sleeping bag and awoke to an entirely different type of day. A wind had sprung up with a cold, chilling aspect, which made the day ahead rather an ordeal. Our normal washing and dressing routine, then breakfast without Daniel, who had overslept and only came for his meal when we had finished. It was raining as well – off and on – and we picked our time to go along the High Street from Waites Quay for the Bank Holiday Monday market. A little look round and then morning drinks at The Guide Hut, as we always have on these occasions. Di set up outside on the tables, which was a mistake, as I could not recover from the chill for the rest of the day. I thought that a succession of cold salads were also to blame and I went back to The Lady to try to warm up after, with the boat heating, but did not succeed. Then the rendezvous for lunch and we opted for the salad buffet at Floods again, but at least sat inside in the bar to have it.
I was slowly recovering and did not want to move, but the others insisted that it was time to go and so we made our way back to the boats and loaded ourselves into the Little Lady for a trip across the river to L H Jones Boatyard. A nice look round, bought replacement Calor gas and a number of chandlery items, then had a look at the brokerage boats, with Daniel doing his normal routine of criticising The Lady and trying to persuade us to get a new boat. Back to our mother ship and then we set off for home, locking through Hemingford, Hartford, and then Godmanchester to get to our playing field moorings by early evening. A difficult day for navigation, with the cold and wind, but at least the rain held off. We had an enormous argument with a boat in front, who wanted to confine Hartford lock pen to him and Daniel’s boat, swearing blind ‘with 30 years’ experience on this river’ that we could not get The Lady in. In the event, I insisted and she went in easily, but the cold atmosphere persisted through the final lock, though I helped them with the guillotine gate. Some people! There were 4/5 boats waiting to lock through behind on the last day of a Bank Holiday and this is the way queues build up unnecessarily. Was not quite ready for tea of tomato coup & cockles (itself a rare combination!) but ate them nevertheless. Felt cold, shivery and sick still and finally was sick and retired to my bunk with a hot bottle. The end of a poor day, feeling at least comfortable and slept from 8.00pm onwards, after I had managed to get warm at last. I hear this morning from my papers that the news is of a sixth parcel bomb being found at the home of a civil servant and of the increasing bitterness of the teaching profession at its treatment by this government. Following the imposition of new terms and conditions upon teachers, the unions are advising members to fulfil the extent of the extra duties, but no more than that, and they will keep hour logs and time sheets accordingly.